Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return: Tyrol Summary & Analysis

Every morning, Lucia wakes Marjane up at 6:30 a.m. with her noisy hair dryer. Following her rude awakening, Marjane goes to school. Everyone ignores her there, but Marjane expected this since she arrived in the middle of the semester. Eventually, kids begin to pay Marjane more attention as she aces math tests and draws caricatures of the teachers. And since she hasn’t spoken French in three years (since the Islamic government closed bilingual schools in Iran), kids take advantage of her knowledge gaps. Two boys tell her that the French word for a triangle is “dick” and laugh when Marjane asks another student to “borrow his dick.” Though the experience is embarrassing, Marjane tells herself that at least kids know she exists.

After a while, an 18-year-old French girl named Julie notices Marjane. Later, Marjane realizes that Julie is only interested in her because unlike the other students, Marjane has “known war.” Julie introduces Marjane to her friend Momo, a boy who greets everyone by kissing them on the lips. This marks the first time that anyone has kissed Marjane on the mouth. Momo introduces Marjane to Thierry and Olivier, a pair of Swiss orphans who live with their uncle. Marjane’s new friends are intrigued that Marjane is a “third-worlder,” that she’s living alone, and that she’s seen war. Momo is “obsessed with death,” so he finds Marjane particularly interesting.

As Christmas vacation approaches, everyone at school talks about their plans. Many of Marjane’s classmates are going on vacation to exotic places. Her friends will be scattered across Europe, skiing and visiting family. Thierry complains about how boring it’ll be to ski, as Momo insists that Christmas is just a way for American businesses to make money. None of Marjane’s friends listen to her when she tries to explain that Iranians don’t celebrate Christmas. Instead, they have to wait for the Iranian New Year on March 21. By the Friday before Christmas, Marjane feels awful. Most streets are filled with shoppers, but her residential street is empty. She wonders what she’ll do all alone for two weeks.

When Marjane gets back to her room, Lucia asks what’s wrong. She assumes Marjane is upset at the prospect of celebrating Christmas alone, so she invites Marjane to accompany her to the Tyrol in the Alps. They strike a deal: Marjane won’t mention Lucia’s boyfriend to Lucia’s family if Lucia stops drying her hair at 6:30 a.m. Lucia’s parents are like no one Marjane has ever met. Lucia’s mother has a moustache, while her father wears leather pants. Marjane accompanies them to midnight mass and joins the extended family for meals. A French-speaking cousin translates for Marjane—and to Marjane’s relief, she never has to talk about war or death. On the day that Marjane and Lucia leave, Lucia’s parents give Marjane a framed photo of Lucia, Marjane, and Lucia’s little sister. Marjane feels like she has a new family and never again complains about Lucia’s hair dryer.